Cross Pointe Church Turns Old Missile Factory Into State-of-the-Art Worship Facility With Help From Shure
Church Campus Relies on Shure Axient®, ULX-D®, and PSM®1000

August 4, 2015

Niles, IL, Aug. 4, 2015—Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, Ga., was once home to a guided missile factory where the construction of the Hellfire anti-tank missile and assembly lines for 500-pound bomb fuses could be found. When Cross Pointe took over the facilities in 2003, it underwent a major renovation project to suit the needs of its dynamic and growing church. By 2015, the former warehouse and bomb fuse assembly line had become a worship center with student and children’s areas as well as offices that welcomes thousands of people to Sunday services. All campus buildings had been constructed and remodeled to serve the unique worship needs of Cross Pointe, but one issue still remained—the existing audio gear caused unexpected dropouts during worship services due to a crowded RF environment.

To address audio issues, Alfred Burgess, pastor of worship and creative arts at Cross Pointe, set out to find replacement equipment. Being situated near the Arena at Gwinnett Center—home to ECHL hockey games, concerts, conventions, and more—and Georgia’s Interstate 85, the church campus was not an ideal location for wireless microphones. Burgess tapped the expertise of Technical Innovation, an A/V systems designer and integrator, and after receiving a demo of the Shure Axient® Wireless Management Network, he knew the solution was exactly what Cross Pointe needed. Axient systems were installed, with the gear list featuring the AXT610, AXT400, AXT100, AXT 900, and the AXT600 Axient Spectrum Manager. Since the Axient installation, audio for Cross Pointe services has been flawless.

“When we prepped for the first Sunday service when Axient was going to be used, we tested the equipment by trying to cause interference,” said Burgess. “Despite us wreaking havoc with the frequencies selected, the Axient signal stayed as solid as can be, moving to a clean, compatible frequency automatically. It did everything it was supposed to do, and we’ve had no issues whatsoever, which is incredible given how much RF we have in our unique area.”

For RF management, Burgess and his team used the Axient Spectrum Manager for spectrum scanning, analysis, and compatible frequency coordination—all in a single rack. The solution offers a sophisticated interface and precise information for allocating the best available frequencies to any number of wireless channels. Cross Pointe uses the Spectrum Manager with Shure Wireless Workbench® software, where audio team members can view the RF world for not only Axient, but the other networked Shure wireless gear the congregation relies on, including the Shure ULX-D® Digital Wireless System.

“Vocalists leading worship rely on ULX-D with KSM9 handhelds. We not only get uncompromised audio quality and RF signal stability with ULX-D, but its durability is best-in-class. Our older handhelds looked dated because the paint wore out quickly. For in-ear monitoring, singers and band members are set up with PSM®1000 and SE425 and SE535 earphones.”

To ensure microphones are powered service after service, Burgess has found peace of mind with Shure rechargeable battery options. The charging systems for Axient’s and ULX-D’s lithium-ion batteries let Cross Pointe sound techs drop the gear at a station to power up. Transmitters and receivers display remaining battery life in hours and minutes, accurate to within 15 minutes. “Switching to Shure rechargeables has been awesome, and we don’t have to worry about throwing hundreds of batteries in the trash,” added Burgess.

In addition to having 4,000 people attend Sunday services at the Cross Pointe Church campuses, the organization also broadcasts its worship through Touching Lives, an international television broadcast program reaching one million people across the globe per week.

“When you reach that many people during a church service, there isn’t room for error, and the audio gear has to perform as planned,” said Burgess. “Shure has the best wireless gear on the market, and we continue to have great success using it.”